TODAY'S TALES:  HAPPY JULY 4TH!!! 

Yawn, it was an early get up for a long day...it wasn't even daylight when we went to breakfast this morning.  We've been skating the last few days with the kicking tailwinds, but not today.  Most of the day we just had a pesky quartering headwind, but it was on the light side all day.  By late afternoon the air was still and maybe a little at our back, but light all around.  As we neared Blackfoot we could see the clouds building all around but we stayed dry and even got in our cookout after the ride before it started to sprinkle.

We started out with a hearty breakfast and started turning the pedals just as the sun was breaking over the mountain range to our east.  The pulsating water monsters that lined the roadway kept beat with their pedal strokes in the early morning coolness.  It's hard to imagine where they get all the water they spread over the fields.  I'm sure most of it comes from the Snake River or may be channeled in from the mountains, but they sure spew tons of it on the fields everyday...and the crops are flourishing. 

After the first few miles along the fertile belt the next 50 miles of our route were in a very desolate part of Idaho.  There the road just went out into the vast open rangeland with sage grazing land.  The area was all open range which meant we had to deal with several "cattle guards"... the rails they put across the road to keep the cattle within a section of range.  We had cattle crossing our route in several places today, but even if we didn't see the cattle on the road, we could tell they were there by what they left behind.  If we didn't detour around these droppings, our water bottles got a nice coating that created a unique flavor to enhance our Gatorade.  

The second half of today's route was more farm land that was irrigated and green with crops...corn, potatoes, and wheat.  The second half was also more populated and took us into some small towns...really small, but at least some civilization.  There wasn't much climbing except for a few hills around the 45 mile point.  Until then and after that, it was relatively flat but the pesky headwinds made everyone work a little harder no matter what the terrain. The last 50 miles were on a road that could best be described as mind numbing.  It just went on and on and on with not much to see as far as variety, but it had a shoulder.  We also got to ride on I-86 for about 8 miles near the middle of the day.  It was the best shoulder I've ever ridden on...smooth concrete without a rumble strip, and it was the cleanest I'd ever seen too.  It was so nice that a couple of the riders wanted to just stay on it and go to the next town...Idaho Falls. 

One interesting landmark we came across today was Register Rock at about the 42-mile point on our route.  It's a big rock on which early pioneers carved their names to record their passing along the Snake River in the mid 1860s.  One individual on his way to Portland, Oregon, scratched a head of an Indian on the stone in 1866 when he was 7 years old.  As an adult, he became a sculptor and returned to the rock to check on his work and sign it again in 1906.  It really was an interesting landmark, and I tried to imagine what it was like in 1865 when settlers braved the elements, but found time to record their presence for all time.  It was probably an easy place to find as all they had to do was follow I-86 to exit 28 and they were right there.

After getting in, we were treated to a feast outside the motel.  The Shilling House caters our dinner and sets it up in the shade...one of the best spreads the whole trip.  It's always good to see them every year when we come through and we're always looking forward to a great meal to refill our tanks before pressing eastward.  A couple of the riders asked if we could take them with us...we'd like to.    Tomorrow we'll go to their place for breakfast...that's the best we can do. 

Tomorrow we have a short day...whew, we need it.  It's sleep in and leave late...see you then.

Copyright © 2009 by Bamacyclist  
All rights reserved. 

Smileys provided by Smiley.com